Jamie Mitchell (l) and Jackson English (r) - doing the hard yards for SurfAid. Photo: Dana Edmunds danafoto.com

Jamie Mitchell, the 9x Molokai-2-Oahu Paddleboard World Championship winner, and fellow elite paddler Jackson English have joined forces to raise money for SurfAid International in this year’s grueling 32-mile (51.5 km) Hawaiian race, which will be contested on Sunday 31 July.

Mitchell, 34, from Currumbin, Queensland, Australia, is shooting for 10 wins in a row across the Ka’iwi Channel, which is one of the most challenging stretches of water in the world.

English, 36, who is SurfAid’s biggest individual fundraiser, has finished runner-up to Mitchell twice - last year and in 2008.

Mitchell, who holds the race record of four hours, 48 minutes and 23 seconds, set in 2007, said he was honored to work with SurfAid to help raise funds.

“SurfAid is a frontline organisation that provides a vital service to those less fortunate than us that most of us take for granted. I am proud to be associated with SurfAid and urge everyone to give generously to this cause which directly benefits our fellow human beings,” Jamie said.

English is a schoolteacher at the United World College of SE Asia in Singapore but is originally from the Central Coast of NSW, Australia.  In the past six years he has raised close to $400,000 for SurfAid.

“With three healthy children of my own, it breaks my heart when visiting the Mentawai to see young kids so full of life suffering from very easily preventable diseases,” Jackson said.

“Competing in the M2O to raise vital funds and awareness for SurfAid and their community based programs is the least I can do for the Mentawai people. Please donate to SurfAid and be part of the change required.”

Please donate here: surfaidinternational.org/molokai2oahu